The Wawa gas station and convenience store under construction along Williamsburg Pike received Richmond Board of Zoning Appeals variances for a pylon sign July 9.
The 3-0 vote permits Wawa’s sign to be 27 feet tall and 330.75 square feet, exceeding the maximums of 10 feet and 200 square feet in the industrial commercial zoning district. The sign will feature the Wawa logo and gas prices.
According to the variance of development standards request, the larger sign attracts motorists and increases safety. The bigger sign’s visibility prevents sudden braking and distracted driving as motorists decide to turn into the business, which is at 2600 Williamsburg Pike.
Mayor Ron Oler sent a letter of support to the BZA, noting that Wawa will increase business activity in the area and draw motorists off Interstate 70 toward the city.
Wawa this year began its expansion into Indiana. According to a Wawa news release, locations have opened in Daleville, Noblesville, Indianapolis and Clarksville. According to a Wawa spokesperson, the company hopes to open the Richmond location this year, but construction has not progressed enough to confirm that. Brownsburg, Cumberland, Plainfield and Westfield locations are scheduled to open this year, with 60 Indiana locations opening within 10 years.
Building Together
BZA members also unanimously granted Bridges for Life a variance of development standards for relief from minimum lot sizes in urban residential zoning.
Bridges’ Building Together program is renovating two houses that are on one property at the corner of Butler and North West J streets. Building Together prefers to split the parcel into two lots, but neither would meet the 5,000-square-foot minimum. One would be 3,323 square feet and the other 3,560 square feet.
Building Together teaches construction trades to those in drug rehabilitation in hopes they can obtain employment. Jeff Holthouse, who oversees the program, said all graduates so far have become employed.
At the same time, the program provides renovated housing stock for sale in Richmond, reinvesting the sale profits into the program. Holthouse said dividing the parcel into 1028 Butler Street and 31 N.W. J St. would better ensure single-family owners rather than being used as rentals.
L Street Materials
The entrance to L Street Materials used by trucks currently is on the narrow, residential North West L Street, but the company plans to change that, receiving a variance of development standards to build a 100-foot-wide driveway on North West 11th Street.
The company plans to abandon the North West L entrance within a couple of years, according to Kent Mikesell of L Street Materials.
By moving the entrance to North West 11th Street, Mikesell said less truck traffic should use North West L Street to access the location, which is used for mining and as a quarry.
Pool display
Richmond Pools and Spas hopes to display an aboveground pool outside its building at 800 N.W. Fifth St., but the variance of development standards for relief from parking requirements was tabled.
Owner Ken Taromino of Taromino Properties said it’s important to have a pool on display for customers to see the product rather than relying on a brochure. His plan was to put an 18-foot-wide circular pool outside the southeast corner of his building. The pool would reduce available parking and restrict vehicle movement in the parking area, which already does not conform to city parking regulations for the outdoor commercial zoning.
BZA members expressed a safety concern about children using the pool when the business is closed, but Taromino said his security system would alert him if anyone approached the pool.
Jeff Cook, chair of the BZA, proposed changes to the requirements for the variance. He recommended the pool move to the north end of the property, a 2-foot buffer exist between the pool and a planned security fence, the security fence be 6 feet high rather than 4 feet, and the displayed pool not exceed 15 feet in diameter.
The BZA unanimously approved those changes, and the issue will return for the BZA’s Aug. 13 meeting.
A version of this article appeared in the July 16 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.